On one of his Springfield XDs, PDN Executive Director Rob Pincus has an enhanced grip safety done by Business End Customs. This handgun grip safety is designed to prevent the gun from being discharged if you don’t have a good solid firing grip. Instances might be if the gun is in a box you’re reaching into, or if someone is trying to take the gun away from you and they get their finger on the trigger while you’re wrestling with them.

Handgun Grip Safety

There are many circumstances when the trigger may be pulled accidentally, maliciously or negligently. If the grip safety is not depressed, the gun won’t go off. This safety is manually operated but is also somewhat passive in the process of getting a good firing grip and shooting the gun. So it’s one that we don’t mind on a defensive gun, but we are aware it can be a liability if the handgun grip safety is not engaged properly when you get a grip on the handgun.

What Enhanced Looks Like

Most people who are interested in self-defense gear and defensive use of 1911 pistols know that the original grip safeties on 1911s were much smaller and less pronounced than what the current generation of guns has.

How has the handgun grip safety been enhanced? By taking the profile of the existing grip safety and building it up so it’s more pronounced and comes off the gun more, which means you get a more positive engagement with the palm of your hand as you grip and engage it.

Also, the standard grip safety has a concave surface, but the enhanced has a bump, which is there to engage the safety more positively.

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